Nigeria: U.S Drops Proceedings Against Eni After Bribing Allegations

Italian oil and gas company Eni has said in an official statement that the U.S. district court dropped a corruption probe against Snamprogetti Netherlands BV, a former indirect subsidiary of Eni, for bribing to win contracts in oil-rich Nigeria.

According to a statement by the U.S. Department of Justice in 2010, Snamprogetti Netherlands as at 2010 had bagged a total of $1.28 billion in Penalties for scheming to bribe Nigerian government officials to obtain contracts.

The report said the subsidiary hired “two agents, Jeffrey Tesler and a Japanese trading company, to pay bribes to a range of Nigerian government officials, including top-level executive branch officials,” in connection with the installation of Liquefied Natural Gas plants on Bonny Island in Nigeria.

After the Snamprogetti payed a fine of $240 million for bribery charges in 2010, the U.S. justice department deferred prosecution for two years, promising to drop proceedings against the subsidiary if the company and its parent complied with anti-corruption measures.

Eni has said the latest development ”definitively concludes” U.S. criminal proceedings against its former indirect subsidiary.

Snamprogetti Netherlands BV is a former indirect subsidiary of Eni and currently a subsidiary of oil service group Saipem, which currently is controlled by Eni.